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A NEW device measuring decay and insect infestation in timber is about to be put onto the Australian market.

The new device called Smart Timber Monitor will eventually fit into the palm of your hand and has the ability to measure structural integrity, moisture content and through its listening device can detect the movement of termites and wood-boring insects.

The brains behind this clever device which is being developed in Melbourne is Dr Berhan Ahmed, a senior research fellow at Melbourne University's Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science and 2009 Victorian of the Year.

Dr Ahmed has spent 20 years studying environmental impacts on softwoods and hardwoods and has successfully completed field trials with the new "wireless device". Hundreds of sensors on the device have detected decay and insect damage on 40 power poles and 87 houses at the test site in Arnhem Land where conditions are some of the most challenging environments in Australia.

Construction builders and the electricity industry are set to benefit through this break- through as evidence has shown that thousands of power poles are pulled down each year which prove to have a lot more years of service life left in them.

Incidentally there are 3.5 million wooden power poles in Australia, so even a 1% saving is of considerable cost-saving benefit.